Chess Puzzle #50RoW — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king h2; queen e4; rook d8; pawns a3/f2/f4/g3. Black: king f7; queen a1; rook a8; bishop c3; knight b8; pawns a4/b5/c6/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 7 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Bf6 — bishop c3→f6. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qe8+ — queen e4→e8, gives check. Opponent replies Kg7 (king f7→g7).
3. Best move: Qf8# — queen e8→f8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, mate, mate in 2, short. The combination ends with Qf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: rn1R4/5k1p/2p3p1/1p6/p3QP2/P1b3P1/5P1K/q7 b - - 3 26

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